Toys for children and adults COBI

TOYS FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS

COBI, a company headquartered in Warsaw, is Poland’s leading manufacturer of high-quality building blocks. It is also an importer and distributor of licenced toys: dolls, plastic model kits, interactive toys, creative sets for children.

The company was founded in 1987. “It was before the political changes in Poland. At that time, private economic activity was almost completely eliminated in our country and literally everything was missing in the market. As a company, we started from scratch, operating in very difficult conditions. Initially we made puzzles and board games. Huge success in this field allowed us to develop the company, and to start the production of building blocks in 1991”, reflects Robert Podleś, the company’s owner and president.

In 1997, COBI established a new manufacturing plant in the Special Economic Zone in Mielec. Four years later it opened its offices in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. By the beginning of 2011 production capacity had significantly increased allowing the company to meet growing demand for COBI construction blocks.

Nowadays, COBI is the biggest manufacturer of building blocks in Central and Eastern Europe. Its international sales network expands to more than 60 countries worldwide.

“COBI blocks are sold all over the world, with Germany and the USA being our largest foreign markets. It is worth adding that our blocks are popular not only among children. Due to the reproduction of the smallest details of vehicles such as cars, tanks, airplanes or ships, adult enthusiasts of motorisation, military and aviation are also delighted with sets of COBI blocks. Adults are a rapidly growing group of consumers of our products. This is similar in North and South America as well as in Central Europe and Asia. Thanks to social media, we know that there are numerous fans of our blocks in Arab countries, Africa and even in Greenland”, adds Podleś.

Year after year the company attends the most important toy events: Hong Kong Toys & Games Fair, London Toy Fair, Spielwarenmesse Nuremberg Toy Fair and New York Toy Fair where it proudly presents its products and establishes new business contacts.

“We work intensively on the development of the company, our products and the quality. And we really work with passion, which continues to grow over time. The most important part of our success is our suppliers, with whom we have long-term relationships. We work with several hundred suppliers from small details of metal forms or cleaning agents, through raw materials, packaging, instructions, right up to machinery, it would be difficult to name

them all. Counting all employees of our suppliers, we can estimate that more than 10,000 people participate in the production of COBI toys”, highlights Podleś.

Now, the production plant in Mielec is being expanded. A new factory wing will be opened in June 2020. This investment will allow COBI to increase its production by nearly 30 per cent. Building blocks for every occasion

The company’s priority is to make safe and secure toys of the highest quality that are always fun to play with for all the family. COBI building blocks are created in Poland from origin materials in accordance with the strictest quality control regulations throughout the entire manufacturing process. The company certifies its products at notified European laboratories (TUV Rhineland Group). The toys are phthalates free; they conform to EN71. Each box of building blocks includes detailed illustrated instructions.

The high quality of the COBI toys has been valued by Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. Its first collection of licensed COBI blocks: McLaren Mercedes F1 cars, appeared on the market in 2008. The success of the first licensed line triggered work on other collections. Presently, COBI offers several collections including Jeep with historical Willys (licensor Chrysler Group LLC, the line was launched in 2009), Renault F1 team (licensor Renault, launched in 2010), Dreamliner Boeing-787 and Boeing-767 (licensor Boeing Management Company, the product was launched in 2010). In 2011 has started the production of a Doctor Who licensed series for Character Option Ltd. The newest licence is TOP GUN Maverick – new three sets will lunch on market in June 2020.

Small Army and the newest line Armed Forces is the unique military construction blocks series and number one seller worldwide. The collection is remarkable for its sets of the US Army, Russian Army, Royal Navy and US Navy vehicles. The set may vary from 40 pieces up to 3,000. Military figurines are included in each set, and additional figures can also be bought. Sets are under licence of Dassault Aviation -

models of jet fighters Mirage 2000-5 and Rafale-C. Also new tanks as M1A2 Abrams, Challenger 2 or Leopard 2A4 are very popular.

“The Historical Collection series covering mainly vehicles from Grate War and World War II is our unquestionable hit. The collection is huge and includes about 200 different sets. New ones that replace the older editions have been appearing every month. We take great care to ensure historical consistency and try to perfectly match the proportions and colours in relation to real prototypes. We manage to delight adult collectors who often buy our models not for their children, but just for themselves. We also notice a huge increase in awareness among the youngest customers. Many kids do not want to play with a regular plane from blocks, which has just a propeller, wings and tail, but with the Spitfire that fought German planes in the Battle of Britain or the American Sherman tank, which significantly helped the Allies win World War II.

The Titanic block ship that has won the hearts of fans around the world is the most popular model from COBI. Our series based on the World of Tanks and World of Warships video game licences are also a great success, as well as those released under the license of the automotive brands such as Maserati, Fiat and Skoda. The real bull’s eye, especially in Poland and Germany, is the Youngtimer Collection series comprising several dozen models of cars in 1:35 scale.

We listen very carefully to fans of our blocks, who offer us new ideas, suggest changes or modifications. They often inspire us, and their voices repeatedly influence our decisions”, concluded Podleś. n For more information, visit: https://cobi.eu

Granpak

“More than a printing house” is a family company that invests in technologically advanced equipment as the basis for market success. In addition to highly specialized staff and extensive know-how, it is based on 20 years of market experience. Having a professional graphic and design department, it provides assistance in the development and implementation of a new, even the most demanding concept of packaging. Granpak creates packaging with high marketing standards thanks to the use of a wide range of printing refinement technologies, creates unique and original packaging that effectively performs the sales and visual function of the products contained in them. Thanks to one of the most modern machinery parks in Poland, the Granpak offset printing house provides the highest quality solid and laminated cardboard packaging throughout Europe, serving the FMCG, tobacco, toys, cosmetics and many other industries. The growing requirements of the European market placing emphasis on ecology and the expansion of the field of activities to the food industry prompted Granpak Sp. z o. o. to implement certificates, including BRC Packaging Materials, ISO 9001: 2015, FSC® C124602.